I Can Change
by boopbop
Summary: Martin Mystery's life is about to turn upsidedown when hi father gives him another ultimatum smarten up or pack up. He's destined to meet a girl who will help him put everything in order. But will he be able to change?
1. A New Mystery

A/N:

Well, this is my first Martin Mystery fic that is being posted. I will explain Martin's strange behavior a bit later. Meanwhile, enjoy, and don't forget to review!

**Martin Mystery**

**I Can Change**

_**Chapter 1: A New Mystery**_

**THE CENTER - ??? – 09:45**

"Billy!" someone shouted.

"Yes mom?" Billy asked, saluting and flying into her office.

"Where is my report on the alien race that invaded Peru a few days ago?"

"All proofread, stapled, copied and filed away, mom!"

There was a pause. "Oh. Well, where is that new prototype weapon I was working on for the last few months? Don't tell me Martin got a hold of it!"

"No, mom! I gave it to storage."

"What? Why?"

"…you told me to?"

"Oh. Well, how about my coffee? I usually have it by now! And I need it!"

"It's on your desk…" Billy pointed to the left corner. Indeed, a mug stood there, proudly displaying 'BEST M.O.M' in large purple print on the front.

"Oh. Where is the new recruit I was supposed to interview?"

"Uh, you interviewed him yesterday."

"Oh."

"Anything else I can do for you, mom?"

"Just one thing. Tell me, am I going crazy?"

Billy laughed. "No, I just think this job is getting to you."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Suddenly a light on her desk started flashing, and something made a high pitched squealing noise. Billy jumped, falling off of his hovercraft.

"Oh my GOD!" he exclaimed.

"Uh huh. Uh huh. Uh huh. Thanks. Yes, we'll get right on it." She put down the headphones she had just been speaking into and stood up. "Billy, call Agent Mystery, Java and Agent Lombard." A small smile crossed her face. "It looks like they have quite an interesting mission to go on."

**TORRINGTON ACADEMY – SHERBROOKE, QUEBEC – 09:56**

"You must be the most boring person in the entire world!" Martin Mystery exclaimed.

"Shh!" the librarian hissed.

"I am not!" his step sister Diana Lombard protested. "Java, tell Martin I'm not boring!"

The caveman shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Uh…Java think…uh…Martin's right…"

Diana's eye twitched. "So, you mean that just because I'm reading the encyclopedia for leisure, I'm boring?"

"Yes!" Martin yelled at her.

"Shh!" the librarian hissed again.

"Martin Mystery, I am not boring!"

"Yes, you are!" he shouted.

"SHH!" the librarian spat at them. Obviously they weren't getting the picture. "Get out!" she whispered loudly. "Get out!" She removed them forcefully and took the encyclopedia away from Diana.

"No!" she cried. "My encyclopedia!" Her lip quivered pathetically.

Martin rolled his eyes. "It's at times like these that I'm more ashamed than ever to admit you're my sister."

"Stepsister!" Diana corrected.

"Yeah, thank God." Diana was about to say something when the U-Watch beeped.

"Center!" Java exclaimed. Martin nodded. "Wait…Java never seen that door before…" He pointed to a large wooden door right next to the library, and without hesitating, walked over and wrenched it open. The familiar blue glow lit up the hall and the three walked through. Java shut the door behind them.

"I wonder what we have to do this time," Martin mused. "Maybe we'll get to investigate one of those old creepy haunted houses, like the ones featured in Paranormal Monthly!"

"Yeah, right. Those aren't hauntings, they're just clever ruses thought up by people who stand to gain a profit," Diana stated matter-of-factly.

"My God, you are so boring," he groaned. "Not to mention you're probably the most skeptical person in the universe!"

"I am not skeptical!" she shouted back at him. "And I'm not boring!"

"Whatever." Martin put his hand on the scanner, and after he was cleared, Java and Diana did the same. Soon enough, Billy flew by to say hello.

"Hey everyone! What's up?"

"Billy, my man!" Martin exclaimed. The two then executed a cool handshake.

"Billy!" Java said loudly. They high-fived.

"So, anyway-"

"Hey!" Diana cut in. "What about my handshake?"

Martin, Java and Billy stared at her.

"Uh, don't you remember what happened last time?" Martin asked, a laugh trying hard not to surface.

"Hey! That was a long time ago!" she protested. "Come on, Billy, please?"

"Uh, sure Di…" He flew over and held his hand out with a smile.

"Yeah!" Diana swung out her hand out, and missed Billy's. Then she fell over.

"Wow. This looks familiar," Martin muttered.

"Oh, look, here's the elevator! Heh." She jumped up and ran into it, her face bright red. The others rolled their eyes and followed her in.

One short elevator ride later, they were all in M.O.M's office. Martin burst in through the door and saw M.O.M working on something at her desk.

"Hey, cool! What are you working on, mom? A prototype of a new weapon? A ship? Huh?" he asked, not pausing for breath. "Dissecting an alien? Receiving calls from another planet? Making-"

"No, no, no, no, no, and no! I'm just reading a book and drinking coffee, for God's sake!" She slapped her forehead with her hand. "Have a seat, all of you." They sat. "I'm sending you down to New Orleans, Louisiana, to investigate some strange occurrences at a large Bed and Breakfast located on St. Charles Avenue." She held up a picture of a couple in their 40's. "You will be speaking to Mr. and Mrs. Amelie. They will tell you all about what's going on. They only ask for one thing, though – please, keep it quiet. They do not want their guests getting scared. Understood?"

"Yes, mom!" they chorused.

"Good. Now, Billy, send them on their way."

"Yes, mom!" Billy saluted and opened up a portal. "Good luck, guys!"

**ST. CHARLES AVENUE – NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – 11: 08**

"Wow! Louisiana! I can't believe we're actually here!" Diana exclaimed, a look of awe on her face. "It's amazing!"

"Yeah, yeah…let's just go talk to those people, solve this mystery, and get back to Torrington! I don't like doing missions on Saturdays," Martin muttered, starting off down the sidewalk. "Mom said the place was on St. Charles Avenue, let's find it and get on with it!"

Diana and Java looked at each other, shrugging. They followed him. Soon enough, they stopped in front of a large and beautiful old building. A sign place above the door read "Amelie Bed & Breakfast" in curvy script. Underneath, a smaller sign read "We're Jazzed You're Here!" Diana blinked.

"What does that mean?" she asked.

"Well, New Orleans has always been considered the birthplace of jazz…so, that pretty much explains their slogan,  
Martin explained. He pushed open the door. A small bell tinkled as a wave of warmth and smooth jazz music hit them. It was a pleasant contrast to the cool October air outside.

"Where Mr. and Mrs. Amelie?" Java asked, looking around. The only people in sight were guests. Suddenly there was a loud creaking noise, signifying the opening of two large double doors, and a young girl dressed in a smart-looking crimson suit stepped out. She cringed a bit at the noise the door made, but quickly walked towards the agents. She hugged her clipboard to her chest, and as she came closer, it became evident she was very tired and hassled.

"Bonjour!" she said happily in beautifully accented French. "Vous devez être les agents du Centre, correct ? Mon nom est Lola Amelie. Accueillez! Parlez-vous le français?"

Diana and Java stared at her for a while, apparently confused. Martin took one look at them and rolled his eyes.

"Bonjour. Oui, nous sommes les agents du Centre. Vous devrez excuser mes amis, je ne crois pas qu'ils puissent parler le français. Mon nom est Martin Mystery...mais vous ne ressemblez pas à Mme. Amelie à qui nous avons été censés parler! "

Diana and Java stared at him.

_When did he learn to speak French? _Diana asked herself. _It's amazing!_

"Oh, c'est grand que vous parlez le français, mais je peux parler l'anglais aussi. Je ne voudrais pas omettre vos amis," she told him.

"Quels que soit vous pensez. Personnellement, je ne surveille pas les omettre de temps en temps," he said with a small laugh. She laughed too.

"Well, like I said before, my name is Lola Amelie…and the reason I don't look a thing like the 'Mrs. Amelie' you were supposed to speak to is that I am Ms. Amelie, her fille, her daughter." Lola spoke with a very soft yet distinguishable French accent.

"Oh, well that explains a lot!" Martin exclaimed.

"Yeah, I guess it does. Well, you've introduced yourself, but I haven't had the pleasure to know your friends names…"

"I'm Diana Lombard. This is Java. Would you mind telling us about the problems you've been having?" Diana asked.

"Sure, come right this way." She led them towards the doors and opened them. They creaked again and she sighed. "I really have to get those fixed," she murmured under her breath. "Please, come in."

They walked through and seated themselves in the chintz chairs in front of a large messy desk. Lola shut the door behind them and blew a strand of hair from her face. She walked to her desk and sat down, staring at the papers sadly.

"Er, I don't mean to pester you, but maybe you could tell us about these strange occurrences?" Diana prompted.

"Oh, oui, oui! Pardonnez-moi, s'il vous plaît! Please, forgive me! I am so tired. I guess I shall start at the beginning." Straightening up a bit, she took a deep breath. "It all started il y a deux semaines, two weeks ago. I thought it was nothing. Some of the guests complained that their doors had been left open after they had locked them securely. I assured them it wouldn't happen again. Then, one morning, as I was doing my daily stroll around the place, I found the library had been covered in this strange glowing green residue!"

"Ectoplasm, probably," Martin said. "Could we see the library?"

"I'm sorry, but it has been nettoyé. Cleaned."

"Oh, no! Now we won't have any idea what it was!" Diana cried.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Lola protested. She opened a drawer and pulled out a small corked test tube full of a glowing green substance. "I collected some before the maids got rid of it. I thought it might be utile, useful. Here." She reached over the overflowing surface of the desk and handed the tube to Diana. "So, anyway, after that, everyone reported hearing strange noises throughout the rooms. I heard them too. They were…" She paused. "So, strange. How would you say it…"

"Creepy?" Java asked.

"Loud?" Diana suggested.

"No, no, they were-"

"Fearful?" Diana asked.

"No!"

"Let her explain, Di," Martin said.

"They were…affligé."

"Sorrowful?" Martin asked. "Sounds like a ghost to me. Di, give me that tube, I'll run a slime scan on it." Diana gave the glowing stuff to him and he scanned it. Lola watched, fascinated.

"_Substance made of unknown components. Slime scan inconclusive." _

"Well, that was helpful," Diana said sarcastically.

"I'll send it to Billy for further analysis. Go ahead, Lola, continue with your story."

"Well, it was very strange. Two days ago, the lustre en cristal, the crystal chandelier, shattered. It happened during our weekly dance."

"Did it fall?" Diana asked.

"No, that was the strange thing. It shattered in midair. I lost a lot of guests yesterday because of it. But the scariest thing happened today. I was shaken out of sleep ce matin, this morning, by one of the maids. She told me there was something strange in the main hall. I rushed downstairs to see what the matter was. It was…well, perhaps I'd better show you. Please follow me." She stood up and walked out of the office. "I have put the evidence in the library, because I did not want anyone to see it." She headed to a smaller set of double doors and pulled out a ring of keys. After choosing a tiny golden one, she inserted into the lock and the right door swung open, and she ushered them in. "I closed the library after the incident with the glowing substance."

Martin quickly scanned the gigantic room. It seemed to be spotless, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except for a large canvas-like object covered in a cloth and tied.

"Is that what you wanted to show us?" he asked, pointing to it.

"Oui. Come on." She made her way towards it and pulled on the string. It immediately fell along with the tarp, and revealed a shining mirror. Lola stepped away from it. "I was hoping you could tell me what this could mean…"

The mirror had been written on in gigantic green glowing letters. The writing was in French.

_Un jeu de juro__n sur cet endroit souillé! Pas une âme sera épargné!_

An eerie cold wind had picked up inside the library. Not one window was present, and the door was locked securely. Everyone shivered involuntarily.

"A curse set upon this befouled place…not one soul shall be spared…" Lola translated in a whisper.


	2. Résoudre – To Solve

**Martin Mystery**

**I Can Change**

_**Chapter 2: Résoudre – To Solve **_

The words lingered on the three of them. The wind picked up even more.

"Ce n'est pas normal!" Lola whispered loudly. "This is not normal! Winds do not just pick up indoors!"

"M-M-Martin?" Diana squeaked.

"What is it, Di?" he asked irritably. He wasn't in the best of moods.

"Look!" She raised a trembling finger and pointed towards a corner of the darkened library.

"Oh mon Dieu! Cela ... cette chose! Je l'ai vu auparavant! J'ai cru que c'était seulement un rêve!" Lola said quickly in French. A look of fear had come upon her features, and she seemed very much awake. She stared at the glowing white figure that had caught everybody's attention.

"Martin! Martin, what is she saying?" Diana asked.

"'Oh my God, that thing, I've seen it before. I thought it was only a dream.,'" he translated.

"What? Why didn't she tell us about it?" Diana practically screamed. "Why didn't you tell us?" she shouted angrily at the poor girl.

"Pourquoi me levez-vous votre voix ?" she asked in a small voice. "Je n'ai fait rien mal! I didn't do anything wrong! Why are you yelling at me?" Finished, she felt tears stinging her eyes and dropped to her knees.

Diana blinked. "What did I do?"

"You idiot!" Martin shouted. "Why are you shouting at her? She hasn't done anything wrong!" He knelt down next to her. "Don't listen to them…I'm sorry they made you cry. Lola, look at me…please, Lola, look at me!" She looked up at him, her golden eyes scared."Vous devez me dire que vous connaissez! You have to tell me everything you know."

"D'accord…" She sighed, wiping some of the tears away. "I'm sorry, but I really am overworked, tired, and scared…I'll tell you everything…"

"It's okay. Come on, let's get out of here. That thing is gone – for now, anyway." He stood up and offered his hand to her. She took it and stood up.

"Let's go back to my office…I could use something warm to drink," she said quietly.

"I think we all could. Come on."

"Le thé, le café, le chocolat chaud?" Lola asked when they were comfortably settled in the armchairs once more. "Tea, coffee, or hot chocolate?"

"I'll have tea," Diana said meekly.

"Java have coffee."

"I'll take a hot chocolate, thanks," Martin said, leaning back. Lola nodded and turned on the electric kettle. She sat down and pushed some of the papers on her desk out of the way.

"Okay, I'll get right to the point. Ever since my parents have owned this place, I've constantly had nightmares about a ghostly figure. I always thought they were just dreams, but they've scared me. I remember once waking up in the middle of the night, and for no apparent reason, following a glow downstairs…it was as if I was…possédé!"

"Possessed?" Martin asked incredulously. She nodded.

"Oui. It was the strangest feeling. And it has happened so many times!" The kettle whistled and she stood up to make the drinks. After a few seconds she handed a warm mug to everyone. She took a few sips of her hot chocolate. "Anyway, my parents never believed me. I-"

Suddenly a phone started ringing from somewhere under the papers. She groped around and found it. "Excuse me, I should take this…" She picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Incompetant! Vous ne pouvez faire rien correctement, vous la petite fille stupide! We have lost so much money because of you!" a voice screamed from the other end of the line. It sounded like a woman. Lola's eyes widened.

"Maman?" Lola asked, paling. "Attendent, s'il vous plaît, ne criez pas ... ce n'est pas ma faute! It's not my fault!"

"Marie, s'il vous plaît ... elle ne peut pas le contrôle ..." a man's voice said quietly, firmly. "Marie, she can't control it." Martin, Diana and Java could quite plainly hear every word. The woman was very loud!

"Taisez-vous, Henri! Quiet! Notre fille ne fait rien correctement! Our daughter can't do anything right! Nous allons avoir un peu de conversation quand nous rentrons de la France! We are going to have a small talk when we get back from Switzerland!"

"But, maman…please, let me explain," Lola said in a tiny voice, tearing up.

"Silencieux! I knew we could not trust you!"

"Papa!"

"I'm sorry, Lola." Before the girl could say another word, there was the sound of the phone being slammed down and an unpleasant dial tone. Lola stared at the receiver for a few seconds before putting it down. She was trying hard not to cry, but a few tears found their way down her cheeks.

"What did they say, Martin?" Diana asked quietly.

"The woman was yelling: Incompetent! You cannot do anything right, you stupid little girl…" he trailed off, seeing Lola looking directly into his eyes and knowing that he knew what she had just heard from her own parents.

"Ils me détestent, ils me détestent...they hate me…" she whispered.

Martin sprang up and went to her side. "Lola, don't listen to them…they have no idea what really happened. Don't cry." He pulled a tissue out of his pocket and tilted her chin up, as she would not look at him. "I can't stand to see a pretty girl cry." She blinked and took the tissue from him, wiping her eyes.

"I'm not crying," she said in a strong voice, clearing her throat.

"Good."

"What shall we do now?" she asked sadly.

"Well, I for one think it's time to check up on this in the Legendex," Diana said. Martin nodded.

"Good idea, Di. The best one you've had all day." She crossed her arms, annoyed, and watched him. He brought up a screen on the U-Watch. He cleared his throat and began to read.

"Legend tells us that this vast swamp, which became New Orleans, was once used by Indians as a sacred burial place. The location was appealing for its geographical position on the Mississippi River. The French believed it would be extremely profitable for trading. Therefore, in 1718, New Orleans was founded. Most of the people that moved here were wealthy Parisians, and it was they that made up most of the population of the city." He paused, looking for some sort of reaction from Lola.

"Mais oui, many French people moved here. My ancestors did as well. I still do not see anything unusual," she commented.

"Apparently, some of the French ignored the warnings of the Natives and put their businesses and homes on their burial grounds. It says here that they come back whenever something changes for the worse." He glanced up at Lola, who was biting her lip. "Well, has anything changed around here?"

She nodded. "Yes. In fact, before we took over the Bed and Breakfast, we renovated it…well, my mother did. My father knew about the legend. He wanted to leave it as it was." There was a pause. "So what can we do to get this thing to stop haunting me?"

"Well, we-" Martin was cut off when a hollow wail echoed throughout the office and the hall outside it. The locked windows in the office blew open, and the lights flickered on and off.

"Mon Dieu! This can't be good! Something bad is happening!" Lola shouted over the noise. She stood up. "We have to get out of here, fast!"

"Yeah, yeah, one sec!"

"_U-Watch activated. Alpha-Goggles selected!" _He put on the glasses and switched the lights on. "Is everyone here?" he asked.

"I think so!" Diana shouted.

"Java here!"

"I'm here too!"

"Okay, we have to get out…" he tried pulling open the door, but it was locked. "Hey! Why won't it open?" He tugged at the door knob. "Lola, quick, unlock it!"

"I can't!" she yelled.

"Why the hell not?"

"Because it locks from the outside!"

Just as suddenly as the wailing had come, it disappeared. The lights continued to flicker, but Lola slammed the window closed. They stayed quiet for a long time.

"Let's get out of here!" Diana finally screamed, unable to stand the tension any longer.

"Shut up!" Martin hissed, slapping a hand over her mouth. But it was too late. The wailing sound started again, quietly, but it became louder, louder and louder, until finally they were all pressing their hands over their ears and writhing in pain.

"It's back!" Lola shouted. "Come on, we have to go! Try the door again!

"Ok!" Martin got up and pulled the handle. It swung open. "Let's go!"

"Follow me! Up to my room! I'm sure I have something that can help us!" She bolted towards the gigantic staircase and ran up it, four steps at a time. The guests that had been milling around earlier seemed to have gone. None of the teens (or Java) paid any attention as they sprinted after Lola. They found her standing in front of a door at the end of the hall. She was gesturing wildly for them to come in.

Putting on an extra burst of speed, they made it safely inside and Lola slammed the door shut.

"Okay, we don't have much time," she said, panting.

"Until what?" Diana asked.

"I don't know! Until that thing comes and nous mange, nous tue? Eats us, kills us? Who cares!" She ran over to a bookshelf and starting taking down a whole bunch of thick volumes. "I have tons of books about New Orleans and the burial grounds that it's standing on. Take one each and start reading. I'm sure we'll find something…" She tossed a lather-bound book to each person and took one for herself. There were a few minutes of silence before Martin spoke up.

"Hey, listen to this! Legend dictates that the burial grounds have a keeper, the shaman of the tribe. He was buried first and made the guardian of the departed souls. That explains who our little friend back there was."

"Mais oui, that makes perfect sense. Listen to this! Ancient writings have been found under some of the developments in New Orleans. They have been transcribed and translated. Apparently they were instructions on how to bind a soul to the burial grounds!" There was silence for a few minutes.

"But…why would they have to know how to do that?" Diana asked. Java shrugged. More silence followed.

Finally, Martin looked up at Lola, and she looked back. They smiled knowingly at each other.

"Isn't it obvious, Diana?" Martin asked.

"Oui! The tribe did not bury _people _in their burial grounds. Non, they must have put the bodies somewhere else. What they put in the burial ground…"

"…was souls!" Martin finished. Lola nodded.

"So…we have to seal the soul back into the burial grounds," Lola explained.

"But why wasn't it sealed into it in the first place?" Diana asked.

"Because it was meant to be the guardian! It had to be able to move in between le monde spirituel et le monde humain! The spiritual and human world!" Lola exclaimed. Martin looked at her. He was impressed.

"Well then, let's get to it! Do you have the incantation?" he asked.

"Oui, but it is not in English or in French." She handed him the book. Right when Martin took it there was a loud crash from downstairs.

"Doesn't matter. I'll have the U-Watch translate it, and quick. It sounds like that thing is after us!" Lola nodded and jumped up.

"Excuse me for a moment. I need to change." She ran into her walk-in closet and shut the door. Meanwhile, Martin scanned the writings from the book to translate them.

"Okay, this is taking a while," Diana commented. Martin grunted indifferently. Java shot a glance at him. He was watching the screen with a bored expression. Their heads turned when they heard some shuffling from Lola's closet. She came out wearing, in bold contrast to her previous outfit, a pair of loose dark cargo pants and a green quarter sleeve shirt. Her long, dark, chocolate brown hair was out of its messy bun now.

"Heh, don't let me bother you," she said nervously, smiling. She disappeared into the closet for a few seconds and came back out dragging two skateboards. By that time, the translation was complete.

"Finally," Martin muttered. "It's done. Come on, we'd better get out of here." He stood up and grabbed a skateboard, headed towards the door. When he was reaching out for the handle, it blew open and the lights went out again.

"Oh my God!" Diana screamed. "We're going to die!" She began to go into hysterics. Martin stepped back coolly and slammed the door closed. Lola took the chance to slap Diana back into the real world.

"Fait taire! Shut up! " Lola yelled. "You're not helping by panicking! Now, keep quiet, grab a board, and let's get out of here! " She walked over to her window, kicked it open, and swung her legs over the side. Martin did the same.

"Let's go, guys!" he shouted. He grabbed Lola's hand and pulled her down with him. They landed in a patch of grass. Java came after them, but Diana was nowhere in sight. "Hey! Diana? Diana?" he shouted.

"I'm up here!" she shouted back.

"Well then get the fuck down! What are you waiting for, an invitation or a muffin basket? Get down here!" he fumed.

"Okay, okay!" There were a few seconds of silence, then a loud scream, and Diana fell out of the window. Java stretched his arms out to catch her, but she fell towards Lola. In a mere two point five seconds, Lola had lunged towards the girl and caught her just as she was about to hit the ground. Java blinked.

"Lola catch Diana?" he asked, scratching his head. "Diana okay?"

"Yeah, Java, I'm fine…" Diana muttered, brushing herself off. "Thanks for catching me, Lola."

"Yeah, no problem." Lola dropped her and looked deep into the forest just as another wail came from behind them. She picked up her skateboard. "I think we should hurry up. Luckily there's a path that leads to the grounds a bit from here." Without waiting for them to answer, she hurried off, pushing away branches and leaves. Martin ran after her, leaving Diana and Java to take the remaining board and rush to catch up with them.

"How far is it?" Martin asked, looking back.

"About a ten minute walk." She stumbled when she tripped over a stone jutting out of the beaten path they had just come upon. "But only about four minutes if we ride." She dropped the skateboard and stepped onto it. "Hurry up, two to a board and let's go!"  
Diana's first choice was to go with Martin, but he jumped onto the board with Lola, so she hopped behind Java.

"Okay, full stop, we're here." Lola got off the board and pointed to a clump of trees. "The grounds are just beyond those trees. There's a small chapel or something in the middle. I'm guessing we should perform the incantation there…right?"

"Yeah, sounds good," Martin said, getting off the board and tucking it under his arm. "Come on, we should hurry."

"Y-yeah, this place gives me the creeps," Diana squeaked. She fell off the board a few times on the way there, so she had really slowed them down. Another wail came from behind them, but this time it seemed much closer…

The four of them bolted through the pines and straight to the small house.

"Okay, so we have to read the incantation when the thing gets here," Diana repeated. "Right?"

"Did I stutter?" Martin asked.

Diana sighed. "How are we going to get that thing here?"

"I have an idea," Lola said quietly from her observation point at the tiny window.

"What is it?"

"Well, first, take this…" The French girl handed Diana something that looked like a pouch. "Take it outside and pour the powder around you in a circle."

Diana, not knowing what to expect, went and did was Lola told her. "Okay…what now?"

"Well, now, jumping up and down and make chicken noises," she stated calmly. To tell the truth, she was on the verge of bursting into hysterical laughter. To Martin's surprise, Diana actually started acting like a chicken. It was at this point that Lola fell over, clutching her stomach and giggling uncontrollably.

"What?" Diana asked. "What is it?"

"Di, you look like a moron," Martin told her plainly.

"Oh."

"Well, it is effective…look!" Lola stood and pointed to the distance, where a white figure was emerging from the trees. It began to moan sorrowfully.

"It's coming!" Diana screamed. "Nooooo!"

This set the spirit off. It began wailing and screaming and flitting around as if it was being tortured, and it flew straight at Diana.

"Quick, Martin! Read the incantation!" Lola urged.

Martin nodded and cleared his throat.

"Guardian of far and near,

With you near we have no fear.

And though we're on the other side,

We trust you to be our guide.

O! Heavenly spirits! Bind us to the ground!

For only when we are sealed,

Will we be truly found!"

There was a bright flash of dazzling white light and the spirit gave one final wail before seemingly sinking into the ground. Diana stood up, shaking, and breathed out. It was over.

Back at the hotel/bed and breakfast, Lola felt her life totally fall apart. While they had been at the burial grounds, the spirit (with some help) had completely destroyed the building. Ectoplasm clung to everything imaginable, walls were caved in, and there were holes in the floor. There was no way she could live there and no way would her mother forgive her.

As representatives from the Center were informed of the agents' success, Lola was sitting on the curb in front of the ruined building. Martin noticed her glumness and went to sit beside her.

"Oh...que vais-je faire? What am I going to do?" she asked him. "I don't have anywhere to live. New Orleans is expensive, and I don't have any money…my parents won't fund an apartment. There's no way I could juggle a job and school and still have time for myself." She hung her head, feeling defeated.

"Vous savez…" he trailed off, lost in thought. "You could always come to Canada with me, Lola," he said. "I mean with us." He rolled his eyes when Diana started waving at him.

Lola looked up. "You mean it?" she asked. "Wait…where would I live?"

"How about at Torrington, our boarding school?" he suggested.

Lola beamed. "Martin Mystery, that's an amazing idea."

Martin nodded and stood up to chat with Java. Lola pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number to the hotel her parents were staying at in Switzerland.

Just then, M.O.M stepped out of a sleek white limo and walked to Martin.

"Good job, Agent Mystery. The grounds will be sealed off to prevent any further disturbances. Is there anything else you would like to suggest?"

"Just one thing. I'd keep an eye on Lola. She's showing signs of being a capable agent."

With that, he walked off aimlessly. M.O.M tilted her sunglasses and looked at him, shrugged, and got back into the limo. Diana looked at her step brother.

Martin was acting different.

No, scratch that, he _was _different.


End file.
